Chapter 27
Astrid
It hurt. More than I thought possible.
A few hours ago, I was fussing over cookie dough and worrying myself over a hundred tiny details. Were they too sweet or not sweet enough to his liking? Would he be surprised?
The irony .
I laughed bitterly. I had baked my feelings that he never wanted to taste.
I grabbed my phone, desperate for a distraction from the noise in my head. I stared at Kelly’s number, but when I saw it was half past midnight, I dropped the thought, knowing she'd be asleep by now.
I fell asleep eventually. I wasn’t even sure when exactly. Maybe my mind just wore itself down, exhausted enough to give me a break.
The next morning, my alarm startled me awake.
Eyes still heavy, I reached for my phone, instinctively checking for signs of him.
No calls, not even a message. Just as the familiar ache settled in, reminding me that he hadn’t even bothered to talk to me, three tiny dots appeared beside the name Grumpzilla .
Heart pounding, I panicked, locking the screen and tossing my phone onto the bed.
I counted. One second. Two...three…five. Still, no ribbit-ribbit. Had I accidentally muted my phone?
I grabbed my phone again—no message, no dots. A beat later, the dots appeared, danced a little, and vanished. They appeared again.
What on earth was he typing? It felt exactly like someone holding out candy, only to pull it back just as you reached out.
I put aside my phone, brushed my teeth, and even got ready, and still his message hadn't arrived.
Day one of summer festival…
Ashbourne Park glowed in that evening sun, warm and golden, like the soft tint of an old Polaroid.
Bunting flags zigzagged overhead, swaying in the breeze.
Vendors stood under the candy-striped canopies as they set out trays of snacks, bottles of summer drinks, racks of summer clothes, handmade souvenirs, and many other things.
The townspeople had already started coming in, dressed in bright, summery shades we'd requested: sunshine yellows, popsicle oranges, watermelon pinks, sky blues. Kids ran all over the park, tiny tails bobbing behind them, butterfly wings fluttering, animal ears bouncing.
Pretty much everyone stopped near the photo booth at the entrance, painted with fruit cartoons with a hand-painted banner: Welcome to Orange Falls Summer Festival.
Right below that was a cutout with a handwritten note— Put your head through and say “Summer!” People squished together, ducking awkwardly to fit their faces into the hole, giggling and shouting “Summer!” at the camera.
Kelly and I had taken our picture already. Ours was the very first one.
“I just tasted the lemonade,” Kelly said, walking back over. “It’s delicious. No traces of dish soap.”
“Thank me.” I caught a kid running toward the generator area and guided him back toward the games. “I sampled at least ten vendors to find one you’d love.” Which was technically true if you rounded way, way up. I'd tasted exactly two before Aeron took cup number three and every cup after that.
Speaking of him, where had he gone? I’m not counting— definitely not —but it had been exactly thirty-four minutes since I'd last seen him. I’d been dodging him since morning, hiding in groups, chatting with volunteers, or conveniently remembering something urgent whenever he came too close.
Twice already he'd nearly caught me alone.
Playing hide-and-seek with Aeron was exhausting.
And now I missed him.
“I know. You’re the best.” Kelly hooked her arm through mine. “Seriously, Azzie, this is the best summer festival ever.”
“Are you really impressed, or is this just your obligatory best-friend hype?”
“Absolutely not,” Kelly said. “Look around. Everyone’s happy. The photo booth is adorable. The theme is cute, and there are kids running around in tails. Actual tails. Tell me you don’t want to pull them.”
“Oh my god, especially that red-fox one. So soft, so pullable.” I swear, every time that thing bounced past me, my fingers twitched. It was oddly satisfying to know I wasn’t alone in this weird urge. Best friends for a reason.
“My favorite’s the dinosaur one.” Kelly laughed wickedly. “Before tonight’s over, that tail is mine.”
“Her dad is going to hunt you down. He has been watching everyone like we’ll snatch his kid. And, Kel,” I added, glancing sideways at her. “Maybe chill with the smiling? Your face looks like you’re permanently flustered. People are gonna think you have a thing for Dinosaur’s dad.”
Her shoulders immediately dropped. “Wait, is the redness still obvious? I layered on three coats of concealer.”
“Painfully obvious.”
“Astid! Kewy!” Kaia shouted, waving her little hands as she ran toward us, Allen trailing close behind.
She looked adorable in a sky-blue dress, butterfly wings fluttering behind her. As if that wasn't cute enough, she'd also attached a squirrel tail, so fluffy, so tempting that Kelly and I had to clasp our hands tightly behind our backs. She had even painted tiny oranges on her cheeks.
Orange Falls pride.
“bue bue matching!” Kaia squealed, pointing excitedly back and forth between our dresses.
“Wow…looks like fate dressed you two today,” Kelly teased, nudging Allen’s arm lightly. “Don’t you agree, Allen?”
Weird.
Allen stared blankly for a second but then nodded fast as though afraid to disagree. “Yes, absolutely.”
Last night, Kelly had insisted I wear a blue dress. I’d planned on yellow, at least until my fight with Aeron ruined that color for me. Why was she suddenly pairing me off with Kaia?
“Who dressed you up, Kaia?” I steered us out of the awkward zone.
“Dad and gwandma,” Kaia said proudly.
“We were only assistants.” Allen clarified. “All creative direction was hers. No sane adult would mix wings with tails.”
Kaia glared fiercely, and launched herself at Allen, pummeling his legs with tiny fists. “I’m cute. I’m cute.”
Allen laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay! You’re the cutest hybrid animal. Happy now?”
And she was all smiles again.
I suggested Allen take Kaia to the games we'd set up for kids under five, but Kelly immediately jumped in, insisting the tacos were the best and we absolutely had to try them together.
I tried to refuse, reminding her I needed to stay available in case the volunteers needed help, but Kelly waved away my excuses, looping her arm through mine and dragging me along, promising we'd be back in five minutes.
We'd placed our taco orders and were waiting when Kelly scooped Kaia into her arms. “There's a face-painting booth! Want an orange painted on your chin, Kaia?”
Kaia’s eyes went wide, sparkling as if she'd hit a kid’s jackpot. “Thwee owanges?”
“Yes, three oranges!” Kelly agreed.
“Kelly, no ice cream!” Allen called after them. “She’ll trick you into buying.”
“I promise she won’t.”
Kelly was definitely acting weird today.
“Does Kaia have any allergies?” I asked Allen, remembering how strict he’d been about letting her anywhere near chocolates the first time I’d visited his café. I almost asked about her mom, too, but caught myself just in time. It wasn’t my place to pry.
“Not exactly allergies, but she catches colds easily. Her immune system has always been weak, so I have to be careful about sweets and anything cold.” Allen smiled helplessly.
“That little troublemaker is an expert at getting her way. All she has to do is flash her puppy eyes and Grandma’s handing over chocolates behind my back. ”
“It’s impossible keeping her away from sweets when you run an entire chocolate café.”
Our tacos arrived, and they tasted fine, definitely not the life-changing experience Kelly had promised.
“I have a feeling chocolate runs through her veins instead of blood.” He laughed. “Where’s Aeron? I don’t see him.”
“Busy I guess.” Forty-six minutes, my brain offered helpfully. I wasn’t counting. I was definitely not counting.
“Did you two have a fight?”
I didn't have time to wonder how Allen had guessed correctly, or even pretend he hadn't, because right then Aeron appeared in the corner of my vision, holding Kaia, who was sobbing into his shoulder.
How did she end up with Aeron when Kelly was the one who'd taken her?
Allen immediately shifted into protective-dad mode. “Kaia, what happened?” he asked, already reaching out and carefully lifting her from Aeron’s arms.
Kaia hiccupped, squirming in Allen’s arms as she reached around to pat her empty back. “My tail’s gone,” she wailed burying her face into Allen’s shoulder.
Was it Kelly’s work? I shouldn’t have been laughing while Kaia was sobbing her heart out, but I just couldn’t stop myself.
Allen narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Aeron. “How did this happen?”
Aeron held up Kaia’s fluffy tail, casually dangling it like he'd discovered evidence from a murder scene. “I wasn’t around when it happened. Just found this. Go fix it before she starts crying again.”
Allen snatched the tail, giving Aeron a skeptical look before walking off. I turned to follow, but Aeron was quicker, catching my wrist.
“We don’t have anything to talk about.”
“I do.” Aeron leaned in. “There's something I need to confess.”
A confession? Was he going to apologize for yelling at me? I wasn't going soft on him. Still, my breath betrayed me as I glanced over my shoulder, aware of how his lips hovered just an inch away from my ear.
“I broke Kaia’s tail.”
I blinked.
This was a confession?
“W..why did you?”
“I don’t like sharing your attention.” He snatched the half-eaten taco from my hands and walked away, leaving me staring after him, speechless and taco-less.